Written by: Peter Van Gucht
Illustrations: Claus
Coloring: Studio Leonardo
Publisher: Standaard Uitgeverij
De Rode Ridder #248 De Drakar Des Doods – Comic Book Review
It hasn’t been that long ago since our review of the third season of Vikings, where Ragnar Lothbrok led the Vikings to new heights, with his conquering spree. This time another Ragnar (which we suspect is the same historical figure) takes the stage, as he also leads a Viking tribe to victory, albeit with the use of a dark being. Johan might not come off easy this time, especially given the foe he must overcome. Nonetheless, the valiant red knight will fight with all his might.
With the Japan saga slowly becoming a distant memory for Johan, it seems there are issues with another country Johan must attend to. King Charles is too busy fighting off the Germans who are besieging him, thus Johan was sent off to the Belgian coast to inform an old friend, fellow knight but now a liegeman of his, Bernard, to strengthen the defenses on the coast. Nonetheless, it seems in order to reach his old friend, Johan must first survive a problematic situation, namely a gigantic band of bandits who lurk in the forest close to Bernard’s keep. When getting rescued by one of Bernard’s loyal knights, Erwan, he gets to see the village Bernard is supposed to take care of, but all he sees is a poor rotten down backwater hole, which makes him suspect that his old friend is not doing such a good job. This turns out to be a very correct feeling when he sees Bernard living in luxury, while the populace has practically nothing.
When Johan decides to confront Bernard with this inconsistency, Bernard immediately throws a tantrum, stating Johan is being a poor friend. Not only Bernard becomes a problem, but also Erwan, who seemingly has his own agenda, the bandits and of course the Vikings and their mysterious dark creature. Johan will have his hands full this time.
Like always, the pace in the issue is rather rapid, as the series always has albums of only thirty pages, which is rather short. This means the writer(s) have to process a lot of story in such a short working space, while keeping things understandable and interesting. Perhaps this issue would have been better if a few extra pages were implemented, as some portions of the story are a bit vague. Nonetheless, even though this is the first issue of Peter Van Gucht for ‘De Rode Ridder’, he makes a very original appearance with his choice of story. While there are still a few scenes that could have been explored more, this entire issue feels just as authentic as the ones by the other writers.
There is not that much extra to say about Claus, which we haven’t mentioned in the previous reviews. Claus does a great job in keeping the franchise alive, by providing authentic, old school illustrations with a great level of detail to them. Studio Leonardo again does a proper job coloring the entire issue, again staying rather true to all the other albums.
Conclusion
De Rode Ridder #248 De Drakar Des Doods is Peter Van Gucht’s debut in the world of ‘De Rode Ridder’ and it fits perfectly with the issues written by the other writers. While it feels like the issue needed to be several pages longer to fully explore the plot, it’s still a very enjoyable issue, mostly thanks to the action packed story.
De Rode Ridder #248 De Drakar Des Doods - Comic Book Review,
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